“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1

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Personal Medical Health Records & Privacy

The Personal Health Record and Privacy Issues

The United States
Congress is currently deciding who will have the ability to see, share and sell
patients sensitive health record information. Patients deserve privacy
and a right to be a part of the process in determining protocols considered in
current Health Care IT legislation. Read more about Patient Privacy
Legislation at http://patientprivacyrights.org/policy-center/legislation-2007/

A personal health
record or PHR is a written or digital record of your health care history and
includes official records, laboratory results, DNA testing, billing and medical
claims data. The health related information in the Personal Health
Record, includes basic health information such as allergies, exercise habits,
lifestyle, sexual history, medications, glucose levels, heart rate, and other
medical data. Official governmental policies that involve sharing of
personal medical data which includes personal health records should allow
the patient to see the information, so that patient’s can use and control their
most sensitive personal health records.

The US Federal
government under the Office of Health and Human Services is currently reviewing
standards for the sharing of personal medical information. Section
3003(b)(3) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 mandates that
the Health IT Standards Committee develop and publish a schedule for the
assessment of policy recommendations developed by the Health IT Policy
Committee.

In 1996 Congress
passed HIPAA, and instructed the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) to
address the rights of patients to privacy.

“Not later than the date that is 12 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit
to [Congress]…detailed recommendations on standards with respect to the privacy
of individually identifiable health information.”

In 2001 President Bush
implemented the original HIPAA “Privacy Rule” recognizing the “right of
consent”.

“….a covered health care provider must obtain the individual’s
consent, in accordance with this section, prior to using or disclosing
protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, or health care
operations.”

In 2002 During
President Bush’s term there were amendments to the “Privacy Rule” became
effective eliminating “right of consent”.

“The consent provisions…are replaced with a new provision…that
provides regulatory permission for covered entities to use and disclose
protected health information for treatment, payment, healthcare
operations.”

The Privacy Rule

The
Privacy Rule protects the privacy of a patient’s health information; it determines
who can look at and receive a patient’s health information, and also gives the
patient specific rights over that information. In addition, the Patient
Safety Act and Rule establish a voluntary reporting system to enhance the data
available to assess and resolve patient safety and health care quality issues
and provides confidentiality protections for patient safety concerns.

"Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." Confucius

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who
points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds
could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and
blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and
again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but
who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at
the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who
at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
neither know victory nor defeat."

Theodore
Roosevelt- Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic",
delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910

Medical Whistleblower Commitment to Non-Violence

Medical Whistleblower has a commitment to improving the protection of all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as defined in, among others, the following regional and international legal instruments:

• UN legal instruments pertaining to human rights, including: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the international covenants on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights; the conventions providing for monitoring mechanisms (torture, racial discrimination, discrimination against women, the rights of the child, rights of migrant workers and their families); and the conventions and standards of the International Labor Organization;

• Special procedures and non-treaty mechanisms of the United Nations;

• The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders;

• The UN resolution establishing the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights defenders;

• The United Nations guidelines on human rights defenders;

In addition, Medical Whistleblower upholds the principle of a code of ethical and moral conduct that all means used by Medical Whistleblower will not include violence - We exclude the use of violence to advance political aims. We work with and in collaboration with existing governmental structures and systems but put pressure on governments in a non-violent manner to achieve human rights protections and goals.

"The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience."

“When we call anything a person’s right, we mean that he has a
valid claim on society to protect him in the possession of it, either by the
force of law, or by that of education and opinion”

John Stuart Mill

"The adversarial system of justice is by nature unfair and unjust. It favours the strongover the weak. It accentuates social and cultural differences, favouring the rich whoare able to engage and pay for the services of one or more layers."

Justice MinisterMadame Guigou, 1999

“Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.”
―Martin Luther

Protect Medical Whistleblowers

“The most powerful individual in the state will be cautious of committing any flagrant invasion of another’s right, when he knows that the fact of his oppression must be examined and decided by twelve indifferent men.”

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“I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something
that I can do.”
― Edward Everett Hale

Film on Residential Child Abuse

Over the GW - Available on DVD

Make Torture of US Citizens on US Soil illegal

IF YOU NEED HELP

Vietnam
Veterans of America, Crisis Phone Number. Special
Notice: If you are a veteran in emotional crisis and need help RIGHT NOW, call
this toll-free number 1-800-273-8255 available 24/7, and tell them you are a
veteran. All calls are confidential. http://www.vva.org/.

Veterans’
Crisis Intervention Hotline: 1-888-899-9377.
A Crisis Intervention Hotline has been established by the VA Heartland Network
to assist veterans who may be dealing with a mental health crisis or difficult
issue in their lives. The hotline will also aid family members or friends of
veterans who need help in assisting a veteran in crisis.

Safe Harborincludes links to find medical doctors (by zip code) who can assist with helping people safely get off of psychiatric drugs and medical personnel who will treat people without the use of psychiatric drugs.